The simple act of detecting anemia plays a large part in the diagnosis for various other health problems such as malnutrition, malaria or HIV/AIDS. Yet, in impoverished parts of the world, where resources are lacking, patients have to wait for extended periods of time for expensive laboratory test results to come back from big cities. Through the simple innovation thought up by two Rice University undergraduates Lila Kerr and Lauren Theis, this no longer has to be the case.

The solution that these two have presented is a modified everyday salad spinner that has been turned into an easy-to-use transport centrifuge. This ingenuity makes it possible for blood to be successfully separated for the diagnosis of anemia without the need for electricity. Dubbed the “Sally Centrifuge” by its creators, what had begun as an assignment for their Introduction to Bioengineering and World Health class has become a possible great help to the aid of people living in rural areas without electricity.

The Sally Centrifuge is currently undergoing a series of field tests this summer in places needing medical aid where resources are lacking. This is all part of Rice University’s initiative for global health, with a focus on developing countries. Kerr and Theis are traveling along with their invention to places like Ecuador, Swaziland and Malawi, where real-world testing of this tool will be done at rural clinics.

Simple ideas that don’t necessarily involve reinventing the wheel are what I believe to be the innovations that truly deserve attention. With a way to make diagnosis quicker, especially in areas too far for urban laboratories to deliver reports in a timely manner, simple works like the centrifuge by Kerr and Theis which is portable, convenient and can run without power, will help global health a great deal. Perhaps as well, this can inspire others to create similar inventions to help the world.